Rethinking Georg Simmel's Social Philosophy

77 Pages·2021·1.237 MB·English

by  Ferdinand Fellmann

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN SOCIOLOGY
Ferdinand Fellmann
Rethinking
Georg
Simmel’s Social
Philosophy
1 23
SpringerBriefs in Sociology
SpringerBriefs in Sociology are concise summaries of cutting-edge research and
practicalapplicationsacrossthefieldofsociology.Thesecompactmonographsare
refereedbyandundertheeditorialsupervisionofscholarsinSociologyorcognate
fields. Volumesare50to125pages(approximately20,000-70,000words),witha
clearfocus.Theseriescoversarangeofcontentfromprofessionaltoacademicsuch
assnapshotsofhotand/oremergingtopics,in-depthcasestudies,andtimelyreports
ofstate-of-theartanalyticaltechniques. Thescopeoftheseriesspanstheentirefield
of Sociology, with a view to significantly advance research. The character of the
seriesisinternationalandmulti-disciplinaryandwillincluderesearchareassuchas:
health, medical, intervention studies, cross-cultural studies, race/class/gender, chil-
dren, youth, education, work and organizational issues, relationships, religion,
ageing,violence,inequality,criticaltheory,culture,politicalsociology, social psy-
chology,andsoon. Volumesintheseriesmay analyzepast,presentand/orfuture
trends, as well as their determinants and consequences. Both solicited and
unsolicitedmanuscriptsareconsideredforpublicationinthisseries.SpringerBriefs
inSociologywillbeofinteresttoawiderangeofindividuals,includingsociologists,
psychologists,economists,philosophers,healthresearchers,aswellaspractitioners
across the social sciences. Briefs will be published as part of Springer’s eBook
collection,withmillionsofusersworldwide. Inaddition,Briefswillbeavailablefor
individual print and electronic purchase. Briefs are characterized by fast, global
electronic dissemination, standard publishing contracts, easy-to-use manuscript
preparation and formatting guidelines, and expedited production schedules. We
aimforpublication8-12weeksafteracceptance.
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/10410
Ferdinand Fellmann
’
Rethinking Georg Simmel s
Social Philosophy
FerdinandFellmann
(deceased)
Münster,Germany
ISSN2212-6368 ISSN2212-6376 (electronic)
SpringerBriefsinSociology
ISBN978-3-030-57350-8 ISBN978-3-030-57351-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57351-5
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicencetoSpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2021
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether
thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
similarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication
doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant
protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors, and the editorsare safeto assume that the adviceand informationin this
bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor
theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany
errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional
claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG.
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
Introduction
Georg Simmel Up to Date
GeorgSimmel(1858–1918)wasoneofthefirstGermansociologistsconcernedwith
relationships—especially interaction—and was known as a methodological
relationist.Thisapproachisbasedontheideathatinteractionexistsinallfacetsof
sociallife.Simmelwasmostlyinterestedindualisms,conflicts,andcontradictionsin
all domains of the social world. Strangely enough, Simmel, as the founder of
relational sociology, is more present in American than in European sociology.
Reservations on the part of his German colleagues are most likely due to the
unprofessionalaspectsofSimmel’sstyleoflivingandthinking.HelivedinBerlin,
intheculturalfermentoftheperiod(from theturnofthecenturytoWorldWarI).
HislecturesattheUniversityofBerlinwerefrequentedbyabroadpublic,mostlyby
intellectualwomenwhowerefascinatedbytheauraofSimmel’spersonality.
The German philosopher and journalist Theodor Lessing, put to death by the
Nazisin1933,criticizedSimmelforproducingaphilosophyabouteverything,about
the handle of a jug, about threshold, about flirtation, etc.: Was nicht ist, wird
ersimmelt—“What does not exist is Simmelized.” This witty modification of the
LatinadagequaenonsuntsimuloshedslightonthevariedtopicsSimmelhappened
tobeworkingon.Hedidnothavethesociologist’squantitative bentbutlookedat
social facts intuitively from the subjective perspective of his ambivalent feeling
oflife.
In contrast to the research programs based on surveys and statistics, Simmel’s
method of selecting interesting phenomenon from the social world is nowadays
more relevant than ever. The changing structure of the modern world is indeed an
exciting time in sociological theory, which searches for new perspectives on indi-
vidualization.Combiningobjectivityandsubjectivity,Simmelpioneeredthegenetic
methodofresearch,whichsurpassesthepositivisticcollectingofdataandpavesthe
wayforanewphenomenologicalandexistentialanalysisofsociallife.Iwouldlike
to refer to Simmel’s method as “genetic sociology,” in analogy to the genetic
v
vi Introduction
phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. “Genetic” is not to be understood in the
biologicalsenseasreferringtogenesbutinthesenseofbecomingorofgenesis[1].
Simmel’s Philosophy of Life
Whereas American sociology is more interested in the formal aspects of social
interaction, European philosophy of culture stresses the historical context and the
personal frame of Simmel’s social philosophy. His personality was dominated by
eroticexcitementsdrapedbytheveilofintellectualism.Simmelandhiswifeliveda
bourgeoislife;theirhomebecameavenueforcultivatedgatheringsinthetradition
of the salon. The couple exemplified the intellectual marriage of the period, cele-
brating the freedom of independent partners, as Sartre and de Beauvoir did after
WorldWarII.Thiswasawaytojustifythenewlygainedsexualliberty.Simmelhad
asonwithhiswifeandmaintainedalifelongintimaterelationshipwiththepoetess
Gertrud Kantorowicz. He had a daughter with Kantorowicz, but concealed her
existencefromhiswife.Angela(1907–1944)wasborninBolognaandwasbaptized
AngiBolzano.Hedidnotwanttomeethisdaughter,andthemotherwasnotallowed
tobringherdaughtertotheirmeetings.Simmel’sattitudetowardhisdaughterleaves
open several interpretations. Margarete Susman, a good friend of Gertrud
Kantorowicz, writes that Simmel felt guilty about not having a relationship with
his daughter [2]. Although Simmel refrained from seeing his daughter, Susman
claims, “this unspoken yet assumed secret, which Simmel kept out of love for his
wife,slowlytarnishedtheirbeautifulmarriage”[3].Amorepsychologicalinterpre-
tationregardingtheambivalentnatureofSimmel’spersonalitycouldbethathewas
notreadytobeconfrontedwithhisownunboundsexualdrive.
Of course, I do not adhere to an outdated biographism. In light of this personal
background,though,Ihypothesizethatsexuality,themostgeneralandmostprivate
featureofpersonality,isattherootofallculturalformsforSimmel.Hisqualitative
approach is centered on erotic love based on male–female polarity, which implies
thatmanandwomanareequalinrightbutdifferentincharacter.Inhislateessayof
1918 entitled “The Conflict in Modern Culture” Simmel demonstrates how the
sexual revolution enabled the cultural evolution to achieve a higher level in the
relation between life and form: “Genuine erotic life in fact flows naturally in
individualchannels.Oppositionisdirectedagainstformsbecausetheyforceitinto
generalizedschemataandtherebyoverpoweritsuniqueness”[4].Thereis,however,
one schema that unites the individual and the general side of life and that may
thereforebecalledatranscendentalschema:theschemaofEros.
Inviewofthiseroticundercurrent,Simmel’simageofhumansisambivalent.He
always considers both sides of every human trait, which are related in dialectical
reciprocity.Hisdialecticalapproachismultidirectional;itintegratesfactsandvalues
andrejectstheideathattherearehard,dividinglinesbetweensocialphenomenaand
individualconsciousness.Lifeisacontinualflux,butthisfluxisofteninterruptedby
unforeseeneventsanddramaticchangesofmood.Simmel’slatephilosophyoflifeis
Introduction vii
thereforenotaspositiveasthatoftheFrenchphilosopherHenriBergson,whomhe
admired. Simmel considers not only the future of evolution but also the origins of
culture.Heisdeeplyconcernedwithboththeconflictsandcontradictionsthatmake
humanexistencedifficult.
What This Book Is About
This book takes up the main topics of Simmel’s thought as well as the different
stages of its development. The topics are presented in their historical context, and
their influence on other sociologists and philosophers, especially in Germany, is
emphasized.Halfacenturyago,inhisconclusionoftheclassicalmonographGeorg
Simmel (1984, revised edition 2002), David Frisby traced possible lines of
reassessment in the hope that this may take place in the near future. But Frisby’s
hope has not yet become a reality, despite the secondary literature published on
Simmelinthelastfewyears,e.g.,GregorFitzi,MatthieuAmat,andDavidRuggieri,
among others [5]. The contributions highlight a certain aspect of Simmel’s work,
such as the cultural turn of modern social research or the defense of relationism
againstthereproachofrelativism,butnonearereallygroundbreakingbecausethey
refertoknowntopicsthathavebeendealtwithforsometimenow.Thisbookisan
attempttoshowthatanewlookatSimmelisrealizableinafieldthatliesoutsidethe
knowntopicsofSimmel’ssociology:Eroticlife.
Inthefollowingchapters,Simmel’s“viewoflife”(Lebensanschauung)isexpli-
catedusinggenetic-phenomenologicaldescriptions.Sociologistsboundtoso-called
socialfactsareunabletograspthemanydifferentlevelsofsocialinteractionthatare
working independently yet interlinked. Lower levels of existence do not lose their
importance but continue to function as essential components in the higher levels.
This bottom-up process is the “red line” of our investigation, which, in analogy to
Simmel’s empirical reasoning, tends to surpass itself. This study also includes an
evaluation of his ideas from the point of view of modern cultural philosophy and
philosophicalanthropology.
ThebookstartswiththeculturalturnthatmadeSimmelthefounderofrelational
sociology. Instead of beginning with the isolated individual, Simmel emphasizes
intimaterelationsasthefundamentalstratumofhumanculture(Chap.1).Formsof
sociability is the topic of Chap. 2. These forms represent a higher level with new
laws of interaction, but they lead back to unconscious processes, and the phenom-
enonofseductioninitsbroadestsenseishighlighted.Therelationofseductiontothe
fallinJudeo-Christian tradition isparticularlyimportant for understandingSimmel
asaJewishthinker.EuropeanandAmericanformsofculturalizationarecompared
inChap.3.ThenewattitudeoftheUSAtowardEuropeisdiscussedintermsofthe
currentvaluediscussion,whichleadsbacktoSimmel’sconceptofobjectivevalues.
Chap.4presentsSimmel’scompletetreatmentofsexandintimacyinviewofwhat
hecalls“realeroticlife,”whichhasautopiantint.Thedevelopmentfromsexuality
to eroticism is considered the main presupposition of Simmel’s view of modern
viii Introduction
culture.Eroticismplaysasignificantroleinmetropolitanlife,accordingtoSimmel,
whichhasbroughtaboutgreatchangesinthelifestylesofbothmenandwomenand
hasaffectedtheirself-validation.Howidentityandindividualityinteractisdiscussed
inChap.5.Simmel’sconceptofpersonalityleadstoahigherlevelofhumanbeliefin
light of the idea of the personality of God. The highest level of the process of
individuation is ethics. From the genetic point of view, Simmel rejected the
categorial imperative of Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy. The transformation
of normative ethics into the law of the individual is the climax of Simmel’s late
philosophyoflife(Chap.6).
Simmelneverpresentedhisthoughtsasasystem;hecommunicatedhisideasin
stand-alonefragments.Forexample,hisanalysisofflirtation,whichheviewsasthe
alternationbetweenconsentandrefusal,seemstohavenoconnectionwithhislawof
theindividual.Uponcloserinspection,though,itbecomesclearthatflirtationisnot
only evident in the coquette, but also in the attitude that corresponds to individual
ethics. Seen as a whole, all these topics are finally brought together in Simmel’s
image of the human as a conflictual and ambiguous being in need of existential
justification. Simmel’s programmatic formula “from more life to more than life”
refers to any form of human interaction beyond mere self-preservation. In modern
society, erotic and aesthetic experiences combine, a mixture that becomes synony-
mouswiththeultimatelevelofhumanculture.Finally,Chap.7isintendedtoberead
asasummaryofSimmel’scultural anthropologyandphilosophy oflife, neither of
whichhaslostrelevance.
References
1. Daniel Sousa, “Phenomenological Psychology: Husserl’s Static and Genetic
Methods,”JournalPhenomenologicalPsychology,45,pp.27–60(2014).
2. MargareteSusman,“ErinnerungenanGeorgSimmel,”inKurtGassen,Buchdes
DankesanGeorgSimmel.Briefe,Erinnerungen,Bibliographie.Zuseinem100.
Geburtstagam1.März1958.(Berlin:Duncker&Humblot,1993).
3. Ibid.,282.
4. Georg Simmel, “The Conflict in Modern Culture,” in Donald N. Levine, On
IndividualityandSocialForms(Chicago:UniversityofChicago,1971),389.
5. See Gregor Fitzi, The Challenge of Modernity. Simmel’s Sociological Theory
(NewYork:Routledge,2019);MattieuAmat,Lerelationismephilosophiquede
GeorgSimmel(Paris:HonoreChampion,2018);DavideRuggieri,Lasociologia
relationalediGeorgSimmel(Mimesis,2016).
Contents
1 SociologyReconsidered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 FormsofSociability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 FormsofCulturalization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4 IntimateRelations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5 PersonalityandIndividualDifferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6 IndividualEthics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7 HumanNature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Epilogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
ix